Money collection-box



J, J. JAEGER.

MONEY COLLECTION BOX. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 7. 1919.

INVEN TOR, Jose f2 J. lager;

' A TTORNEX Patented Jan. 18, 1921.

1181. are

the parts, as wil "reference UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH J. J'AEGER, OF SAN IBEBNARDINO, CALIFORNIA.

MONEY COLLECTION-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 18, 1921.

Application filed October 7, 1919. Serial No. 329,080.

he present lnvention relates to theftproof collection boxes of that general char-' acter which are placed in the vestibules of churches or other public places and serve as depositories for voluntary contributions from the public for different charitable organizations and purposes.

Ithas been found in practice that these collection boxes or depositories are pecul iarly subject to theft, and not only are very ingenious schemes utilized to remove and steal the contents of the boxes, but very frequently the boxes themselves are torn from their supports and bodily carried away. The losses sustained in this manvery considerable in amount, and the object of the present invention has been to provide a collection box which embodies novel feat res of construction whereby it is impossible for unscrupulous persons either to remove the contents of the box or tear the box awayfrom its mountings.

'Further objects of the invention are to provide a theft-proof collection or contribution box of this character which is comparatively simple and inexpensive in its construction, which: can be readily mounted in position upon a wall or like support, which has all of the fastening members ar ranged in such a manner that they'are in,- acoessible and cannot be tampered with when the box is mounted in operative position, and which presents a pleasing and attractive appearance.

With these and other objects in view, the

invention consists in certain novel comiements and associations of more fully appear'as the the novel features binations', arran description proceeds,

thereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

, For a full understanding of the invention v is to be had to the following de- 'scription and accompanying drawing in which Flgurel is a longitudinal sectionalview through a contribution box constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 1s a transverse sectional view on the l1ne 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the directlon of the arrows;

, Fig. 3 is a similar View taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective, view showing the box in operative position.

Cprrespondin'g and like parts are referred to 1n the following description and indicated in all of the views of the drawing by like reference characters.

Referring tothe drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention, the numeral 1 designates the shell or casin of thecontribution-receiving receptacle. his casing 1 may beof any suitable or desired .shape, although in the present embodiment of the invention it is shown as having a cylindrical configuration. .The casing is designed and constructed in such a manner as to assume a horizontal position when operatively secured to the wall A or similar support. The top of the casing is formed with a longitudinally extending coin slot 2 and a small opening 3 through which bills or notes can be dropped when in a compactly rolled condition.

One end of the cylindrical casin permanently closed by a wall 4, while the other end is closed by a removable plate or door 5. This end of the casing is rabbeted at 6 to receive the'edges of theclosure plate 5 and, rovide a shoulder against which the plate ts when in .operative position. An annular groove 7 is formed in the interior of the casin'g, 1 at a point slightly spaced from the rabbet 6. The removable closure plate 5 is provided at one side with an offset tongue 8 arranged' for engagement with thegroove 7, and at the other side with a lock 9 mounted in such a, manner thatthe sliding bolt 10 thereof will engage the groove 7 when projected into operative position. This lock 9 may be of an conventional construction and is operate by a removable key 11 which can be placed in position and removed therefrom from. the exterior of the casing. The offset ton e 8 is indicated as formed at one end 0 a lis cured to the inner face of the removable closureplate 5. A finger-piece or knob 13 is' applied to the closure plate 5 and provides a convenient means for handling and manipulating the, same. Vith this construc tion it will be obvious that when the bolt 10 removable closure plate are all protected by the side walls of the rabbeted portion 6 of the end of the casing 1 so that it is practically impossible to use a tool or contrivance of any kind to forcibly pry the closure plate from position and obtain unauthorized access to the interior of the casing.

The back of the casing is secured ,to the wall A by means of a pair of bolts 14 which are inserted through openings in the wall from the rear thereof. The heads 15 of the bolts have square or polygonal portions which are-embedded in the wall and lock the bolts against rotation. This is merely the well-known carriage bolt construction. The threaded ends ofthe bolts 14: extend into the casing from the back thereof and have nuts 16 fitted thereon. These nuts are positioned within the interior of the casing so that they are only accessible when the closure plate 5 is removed. When this closure plate is locked in position the nuts 16 are inaccessible and it is obviously impossible to remove the box or receptacle from its support. The back of the casing is shown as provided with spacing blocks 17 which are arranged to obtain a firm bearing against the wall A and p which hold the casing in a slightly spaced relation to the wall or support.

Mounted within the interior of the easing are a series of guard fingers 18 which are arranged under the coin slot 2 and bill-receiving opening 3 in such a manner as to make it impossible to fish out coins or bills through, the openings after they have once been deposited in the'box. These guard fingers 18 are arranged in an inclined position underthe slot 2 and opening 3, and are secured at their upper ends to an inturned lip or flange 19 at the end of the curved plate 20 which fits closely within the interior of the casing and is held in position by the nuts 16, being formed with openings to receive the bolts 14:. This provides a very convenient and effective means for securing the guard fingers in position, and these guard fingers operate in a manner which will be obvious to prevent the surreptitious removal of the contents of the box by fishing through the openings in the top thereof with wires or other contrivances.

This contribution-receiving box or receptacle can be safely placed in the vestibules of churches or other public places, and not only has an attractive and pleasing appearance, but provides an absolutely safe and theft-proof depository for contributions to charitable organizations and the like. While I have illustrated and described one particular embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that many changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing in any manner from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A collection receptacle of the character described, including a casing having a coinreceiving opening therein, a closure for the casing, locking means for the closure, guard means arranged within the casing in operative relation to the coin-receiving opening, and fastening means for mounting the receptacle upon a support, said fastening means including releasable members which are accessible only from the interior of the casing and the fastening means supporting the guard means in operative position within the casing.

2. A collection receptacle of the character described, including a casing having a coinreceiving opening therein, a closure for the casing, locking means for the closure, guard means arranged within the casing in operative relation to the coin-receiving opening, and supporting bolts extending through the casing for mounting the same in position, said supporting bolts engaging the beforementioned guard means, and nuts arranged within the casing and fitted upon the bolts, said nuts serving to lock the casing in position upon the support and being only accessible from theinterior of the casing.

3. A collection receptacleof the character described, including a casing having a coinreceiving opening therein, a closure for the casing, locking means for the closure, supporting bolts extending through the easing, a plate fitted against the interior walls of the casing and engaged by the bolts, guard fingers carried by the plate, and arranged in operative relation to the coin-receiving opening, and nuts fitted u on the bolts within the casing and engaging the plate to hold it in position, said nuts serving to lock the casing in position upon the support and being only accessible from the interior of the casing.

4. A collection receptacle of the character described including a casing having a coin receiving opening therein, supporting bolts extending through the casing for mounting the casing upon a support, said bolts being accessible from the interior of the casing, a plate having the body portion thereof shaped to conform to the interior walls of the casing and held in position against the said interior walls by the supporting bolts, said plate being formed with a flange which projects into the casing, and guard fingers carried by the flange and arranged in operative relation to the coin receiving opening.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH J. JAEGER.

Witnesses:

EDNA TURNER, J. CALVIN BROWN. 

